Mortal Kombat X review

The recent reboot of Mortal Kombat in 2011 was a great success. Combining visceral punchy combat with an actual story for once in a fighting game instead of some stills and juxtaposition made for my favourite fighting game, especially since it had so much more to offer as well.

Mortal Kombat X expands on this with a roster of brand new fighters, graphical improvements and some very imaginative fatalities!

Single player sees another fight between the Earth Realm and the Netherealm as Shinnok comes back from where he was sent in the last game to do all sorts of naughty stuff with his ugly demon henchmen. It’s a good thing that Johnny Cage and co are around to try and put a stop to him. This time, the story flits around over 20 years or so to explain what’s going on between the realms, and they even pay a visit to a brand new realm that’s all a bit Mad Max. To spice things up during the seamless cut-scenes they’ve included some quick time events that don’t actually bother me too much, especially when they involve punching somebody really hard in the face.

Of course, the main event is the vs fights and these feel just as visceral as ever. Every blow really feels like it’s making its mark and the X-Ray moves and environmental interactions make for a visual feast as you pummel your enemies. Each character has three fighting styles and there are new fatalities, moves and outfits to unlock with Koins as you make your way through the new and improved Krypt from the menus. You can also unlock easy fatalities so you don’t have to go to the store to buy them – something which gamers have moaned about but it’s not compulsory – calm down naysayers!

The story’s as mental as you’d expect but entertaining, and when you’ve finished with that you’ve got two player vs mode online and offline and you can also fight for your faction. At the star of your game you’re invited to choose your side and fight for your cause. It’s a bit like choosing your club in FIFA and feels tacked on, I’m not sure who actually cares if their made up faction is winning or not to be honest in the grand scheme of things!

The action doesn’t stop there though. There are plenty of challenge towers to choose from where you fight through ten levels to test your luck with a variety of modifiers added to the action, or test your might where you’re sure to get blisters or break your controller.

Mortal Kombat X, for me, is the definitive fighting game. With incredibly violent combat that’s so brutal it’s comical, a perfectly balanced fighting system and lots and lots to unlock and play with, I’d recommend it to any fighting fan. It gets a ball-breaking 9 out of 10.